The Marin Municipal Water District Board of Directors has selected Bennett Horenstein, a longtime Bay Area water and wastewater official, to become its new general manager.

Horenstein, who is now the director of the city water department in Santa Rosa, said Monday that after consulting with his family and based on the district’s and its staff’s reputation in the Bay Area and California, the opportunity was too good to pass up.

“It’s a special opportunity to be entrusted with the leadership of this organization,” Horenstein said Monday. “And my role is to support the staff of the district in meeting the policy directions of the board, to meet our mission and the expectations of the community. And I really look forward in taking that on.”

Bennett Horenstein (Courtesy of Bennett Horenstein)

The board is expected to finalize Horenstein’s contract, which will provide him an annual salary of $255,000, on Tuesday. The contract designates Horenstein as an at-will employee.

The decision comes after the district general manager Krishna Kumar announced his retirement earlier this year after six years in the position. Horenstein will begin his position on Dec. 3, with Kumar staying on in an advisory role until his last day on Dec. 28.

“We’re really excited to have a seasoned water professional with 30 years of experience coming in,” said Emma Detwiler, communications specialist for the district. “It seems like his experience and expertise is a perfect fit for our needs here at the district.”

Horenstein has worked for the Santa Rosa department since March 2017. Prior to that, he was appointed in 2013 to direct the East Bay Municipal Utility District’s Wastewater Department, where he had worked for 22 years in various capacities. Prior to that he worked as a process engineer for the city of Los Angeles’ Bureau of Sanitation.

Having directed the Santa Rosa department during last year’s fire siege and based on past experience, Horenstein said it may be the most important role he has coming into this new position to ensure the district is well prepared for any natural disaster emergency — be it seismic, fire or floods — through both response and building resiliency.

“From what I’ve seen, it does feel to me that the district has done some great work in terms of preparation and is on the right track,” he said. “It’s a bit premature for me to identify specific areas of opportunities, but there are always some. These are very big, complex issues. I hope and I believe that the experience I went through — that was very tough, but very educational — will benefit the district and the community of Marin.”

Beginning his position about seven months out from another potential rate increase for district customers, Horenstein said it’s important for the district to communicate with its customers about the needs of the district in terms of repairs, replacement and improvement of infrastructure to provide high quality water. Horenstein said the cost-of-living and housing issues that employees face is a regional issue that natural partners like school districts, fire districts and other should be discussing together.

Along with his career positions, Horenstein also serves on the board of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, is chairman of the California Association of Sanitation Agencies’ Utility Leadership Committee, serves on the San Francisco Baykeeper advisory board and is a board member of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies. He is also a former Bay Area Clean Water Agencies board member.

Ian Wren, a staff scientist at San Francisco Baykeeper, said he worked with Horenstein for a nearly five-year period while Horenstein was at the East Bay Municipal Utility District.

“He has a unique capacity to work with diverse stakeholders and balance the needs of his rate payers with that of the environment,” Wren said, “and who is not afraid to do what’s best for the environment and water quality and seeking next generation technologies and approaches to managing water resources.”

Despite the fact that San Francisco Baykeeper sued the East Bay Municipal Utility District while Horenstein served as the wastewater department director, Wren said Horenstein was critical to reaching a settlement and even came on to serve as an advisory board member for San Francisco Baykeeper after leaving the district.